Chapter Nine
"Either we're out of practice, or that Pikachu is getting stronger," Meowth muttered.
"Obviously Pikachu is getting stronger," Jessie snapped. "Because we are never out of practice."
"Well I'm running out of patience," James grumbled. "I feel like we've been falling for a whole week!"
The Team Rocket trio glanced down, looking at the clouds below them. It was true they were falling at what could be called a leisurely pace, a giant parachute lined with a big red 'R' having pulled them into more of a glide than a fall. It was hooked around Jessie's shoulders, so that left Meowth and James no choice but to cling on to her as they waited for the ground to reach them.
"How are we even still above the clouds?" Jessie snapped. "I thought we already fell through them, look how frizzy my hair is!"
"That's 'cause we did," Meowth muttered. "Must be a fog below us."
"I don't think we have too much longer to go," James said, pointing off in the distance. "There, that's a mountain peak, see? We're about level with it now."
"Unless we're landing in a valley," Jessie muttered.
"Or a crater," a crackly voice added.
"Or a crater," Meowth agreed, before freezing. "Wait, who said that?"
Jessie reached into her pocket, pulling out the team's phone. The screen was lit up, the map feature pulled up, and Jessie paled as she took in exactly where they were. Sure they had planned on coming here, but not by a painfully slow parachute ride.
"Uh… phone? How deep is the Great Crater of Paldea?" Jessie asked.
The phone whirled for a second before answering. "An exact mea-measurement has never been officially recorded publicly." The device declared. "But it- it- it is known to go much deeper than the surrounding lands, and first ex-explorations reported varying altitudes and a large cave system within. Depending on the point of landing from above, it seems possible to reach great- great depths."
"Great," Meowth muttered. "We're right above the crater."
"This is the Twerp's fault," Jessie snapped.
"So I'm guessing we have quite a ways left to go then?" James asked, looking down at the thick clouds that hid Area Zero from an aerial view.
"Curse you, Pikachu the Twerp's Pokemon!" Meowth cried, holding a curled paw up.
"I think that might be copyrighted."
"Who says I care about others' copyrights?" Meowth snapped back.
"Well, at least this heist wasn't a complete waste," Jessie said as she tucked away the phone. "Because I did manage to get one of those pretty orbs everyone wanted."
She held up the tera orb, admiring the wait it gleamed in the light, before letting out a giggle. Meowth eyed it for a moment, before rolling his eyes. "Just looks like some glorified Pokeball if ya ask me."
"You're just jealous because you didn't manage to grab anything," Jessie snapped.
"Well maybe I'll just grab that precious orb from you!" Meowth snarled back, claws sinking into her pants, and he began to haul himself up towards her. Jessie let out a shriek, kicking in an attempt to get him off, James clinging desperately to her boot so he didn't fall off.
"You're going to ruin my clothes!" Jessie cried.
"Then hand over the stupid orb if that's all you care about!"
"Never! Get off of me you brute!"
"Guys?" James asked nervously as they swung in the air. "Now is not the time, please!"
Meowth had scaled his way to Jessie's shoulders, reaching out to claim the tera orb, and she stretched her arm as far away as possible. Meowth attempted to climb out on her arm, only for her free hand to be shoved right into his face, forcing him back over her shoulder.
"Hand it over!"
"Claws off!"
"After you get your claws off my face!"
"I don't have claws!"
"With how long you keep your nails they might as well be!"
James had his eyes pressed tightly shut as they swung from the parachute, clinging for dear life as his teammates fought above. Meowth had the advantage, light and nimble and being born for climbing, but Jessie's sheer stubbornness was nothing to scoff at. Meowth managed to make his way down her arm, pawing at the fist closed tightly around the tera orb. With an angry roar Jessie swung her arm around to shake the Pokemon off, sending Meowth flying up.
In his panic his claws came out, frantically grabbing the first thing he could reach. The sound of tearing fabric reached their ears, and all eyes flickered upwards as they watched Meowth's claws slide down the parachute. The team shared a wide-eyed glance, no time to even scream as their gentle glide turned into a rapid plummet, Team Rocket falling straight into the thick mist that shrouded Area Zero.
"So why are we heading towards the Cortondo Gym?" Ash asked, studying the map on Rotom with a frown.
"Because it's the closest one?" Nemona said, like this was obvious.
"Exactly," Ash countered. "That means it's probably going to be the one most people from our school are heading to– wouldn't it make more sense to challenge another gym and come back to this one later?"
"Well, yeah..." Nemona said, before looking back at Ash. "But be honest with me– do you want to take the longer route and wait even longer to take on a gym battle?"
She got him there. "...No."
Nemona grinned. "So, Cortondo Gym then?"
"Cortondo Gym," Ash agreed.
"Pikapika!"
Team Rocket's plummet was far from the first bind they had found themselves in, but still that did not make it any more pleasant. The screams of all three of them turned to four as Wobbuffet let himself out to see what was going on, only to join in as he too clung for dear life as they fell into the forbidden crater.
"Jessie!" James shouted above the roar of rushing wind. "Your Pokemon!"
"He let himself out, he can put himself back in!" She cried, grasping the ropes of the parachute even if they provided no true security.
"No, Tarountula!" He snapped. "Let him out and see if he can fix the rip!"
"Will that work?" Meowth cried.
"I don't think we have time to debate this!" James yelled. "Let him out, now!"
Considering they were freefalling towards a certain doom, Tarountula's patch job was a very impressive one, even if it didn't grant them the softest of landings.
The String Shots had managed to seal the rip just enough to catch enough air to pull them from their fall, the parachute flaring open just as the landscape below came into focus. However it wasn't long before the parachute snagged on a sharp cliff face, instantly ripping it once more, and sending Team Rocket and their Pokemon spiraling towards the ground, resulting in a painful landing, but one that kept them in one piece.
They found themselves in a small gathering of Pokemon, wearily blinking their eyes as they caught a glimpse of a float of Jiggypuffs– which then promptly scattered in opposite directions before they could get a proper look at them.
Meowth was the first to sit up (who had not landed on his feet, despite what the human sayings said), rubbing at the coin on his head. Eyes narrowed at the shine that caught his eyes as he looked about, not quite sure what he was looking at. James was the next one, who immediately crawled over to the ripped remains of their parachute, while Jessie recalled her Pokemon to their Pokeballs with a loud groan.
"This is all your fault, Meowth," James muttered as he studied the ruins of the parachute.
"Eh, not like it can fly us out of here," Meowth muttered.
"What I'd give for our hot air balloon," Jessie was sprawled out on the grass. "Remind me again while we didn't bring one to Paldea?"
"Who cares about what we didn't bring," Meowth snapped. "I'm more concerned about this place we've wandered into."
It was then that the two humans finally took the chance to properly look around, eyes going wide as they looked in the foreign landscape. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before, and they had no idea where to put their focus. There was no sky above them, for the mist shrouded the top of the crater, but that didn't mean there was no light– it filtered in through the haze, still bright enough to feel like day, but still the lighting felt off. Deflecting and reflecting with an unnatural evenness save for a few rays that did manage to pierce the mist.
The grass was pale, not yellow and sickly, but a pastel green they had not seen anywhere else in their many travels. Other plants grew as well, trees and bushes scattered about on ledges and jut outs, down in gullies and valleys and drop offs– because the whole crater looked like a winding maze as it spiraled down, a place where it looked impossible for life to flourish, yet it was lined with the meadow-like scenery.
"Whoa..." They all said together.
"Looks like a paradise," Meowth mused.
"It seems like everything is shining," James was looking downwards at the land before them, though Jessie had her head skywards.
"Is this meant to be heaven?" She asked with a slight uncertainty.
"Didn't think I'd see you here," James replied– only to earn a sharp kick at his ankle. "Ow! Well, we're definitely not dead if that's what you're thinking!"
"...Where is that music coming from?" Meowth asked, causing the others to pause and listen to the eerie melody filling the air. For a few notes it sounded calming, like chimes in the wind, when unnatural vocals started wavering in and out– somewhere between an angelic choir and a haunting call.
Jessie pulled out the phone, staring at it as it played the music. "...What are you doing?"
"It f-felt fitting," the phone crackled back, before cutting the melody.
"Must have taken a hard hit in the fall," James muttered.
"Eh, whatever," Jessie said, stuffing the phone back into her pocket. "What matters is that we all made it out, and that most importantly I didn't lose our little orb!" She pulled out the stolen item, holding it up into the air proudly, before pausing. "Wait, was it glowing before?"
"It most certainly had a shine," James said, leaning closer. The tera orb had always gleamed like it was made of obsidian, but now there was a faint glow coming from within. "But not quite like this."
"Maybe Jessie broke it," Meowth said, crossing his arms.
"I did not!"
"Well if you woulda let me have it–"
"Gwroooh!"
Team Rocket instantly fell silent as the deafening roar fell across them, which echoed against the surrounding canyons, sounding far too close. The three slowly looked at each other, a static in the air– before suddenly electricity surged out around them. It crackled through the grass, across their clothes and up a tree, a sharp charge in the air as the Electric Terrain took hold. A shadow fell over them, hot breath washing down their backs, and slowly the trio turned, shaking.
They found themselves looking straight at gleaming purple scales, a giant figure towering over them. Carefully they looked up, not wanting to see what was looming, yet they couldn't look away. Scales crackled with electricity, plasma pulsed within a glowing dewlap. Metallic claws flexed, metal jaws creaked open– twin bolts of lighting sparking out of the sides of a giant crest, looking like horns on the dragon before them.
The creature let out another deafening roar, causing them to all scramble back in fear. They fell down onto the grass, stumbling over each other and themselves as they tried to get away. They could see now that the Pokemon above them was floating– hovering in the air with booster-like lower legs, a tail made of metal and plasma twisting under its form. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before– clearly alive as it breathed and growled, muscles moving under scales– yet there was a robotic look to the Pokemon as well, digitized eyes narrowed at them, every movement of the body shifting with unnatural precision.
The Pokemon let out a low series of growls, gliding forward even as they tried to retreat.
"M-meowth?" Jessie stammered out.
"It– it's saying that we interrupted its hunt..." Meowth translated after a moment, looking even more terrified as the dragon let out a long snarl. "A-and that we're going to replace it!"
James let out a yep– managing to scramble to his feet as he rushed away– but with a flash of violet the dragon was in front of him, growling as it sent him stumbling back towards the others. All three of them huddled together, shaking in the electrified shadow of the Pokemon bearing down on them.
"W-we'll replace your meal!" Jessie cried. "I mean– I mean we won't, but– no! We will, but– but we're going to give you something to eat right now!" She ripped her backpack off of her back, dumping it out. "Yes yes, don't you worry, you can have our things–"
Clothes, basic supplies, machine parts, a hair brush, several Pokeballs– several items came falling out of her backpack, but none of it was food. Perhaps she had been hoping the metallic beast would find metal to be a fine snack, but the Pokemon just stared at Jessie. She swallowed, looking nervously towards James.
He was a bit more composed in pulling things out of his bag, though his hands were shaking rapidly as it set it down, reaching it– but he somehow managed to smile at the dragon. "N-now why would you want to hunt when you could have a h-home cooked meal?"
The dragon let out a low rumble, nostrils letting out a puff of air.
"She s-says it's been a while since she's eaten cooked food," Meowth translated. "A while since she's seen any humans, actually..."
"Wonderful!" Jessie cried, leaping forward. "Well, we'll just have to cook you up the finest we have! So why don't you just have a seat, and let James whip up the best meal you've ever had!"
Their hearts were hammering in their chests as they looked at the dragon, who seemed to be considering their words. After a moment the Electric Terrain around them faded, and the Pokemon seemed to fold in on itself. A bright glow filled the air, blinding them for a moment– and when they looked again they saw a very different dragon. No longer floating, they stood upon all four legs in the grass. The electricity that had been crackling through them had died down, metal plates lining the deflated dewlap and metal bands making up the tail. The electrical horns were gone as well, instead silver antennae flared out from its head as it laid down, watching them expectantly.
The dragon let out another rumble as they did nothing but stare. Meowth jumped, waving his paws as Jessie and James. "What are we waiting for? We gotta meal to cook– we don't wanna keep her waiting!"
James was quick to pull out his camping stove, hoping that it hadn't been damaged in their fall. Meowth practically leapt into James' bag, pulling out every ingredient he could get his paws on. Jessie still seemed to be trying to get on the dragon's good side, having grabbed their ruined parachute. She spread it over the dragon like it was a blanket, patting it out.
"There, no need to get cold while waiting!" She said cheerfully– the terror clear in her voice. "No, what am I saying– it's hot out here. Here, let me just hold it up and it will be just like an umbrella and you can stay in the shade– agh!"
Jessie's feet got tangled up in the cords as she lifted it up, trying to hold the big parachute over the dragon– only to trip and fall over, the parachute covering the dragon's face. She let out a yelp, trying to stand and take it off, only to get more tangled in the process. With a groan of grinding metal the dragon reached up, pulling it off itself.
"Jessie, leave Miradon alone and get over here and help us!" Meowth cried, setting out mixing bowls while James intently looked over a recipe book, throwing ingredients into the bowls.
"Who?"
"The dragon says her name is Miraidon– and she don't want you running around her!" Meowth hissed.
"Right, right..." Jessie backed towards the makeshift kitchen, one of the parachute cords wrapped around her ankles. "Uh, cooking– what are we making?"
"Pancakes!" James declared, shoving a carton into her arms. "And you make scrambled eggs– use the whole carton if you have to!"
"...This is stupid," Arven muttered as he stumbled over the rocky path, breathing heavily.
It was a hot day, but then again it was always quite warm in the South Province. Area three though was a desert. It didn't help that Arven was loaded down with a heavy backpack, sweat running down his back as he made his way through what felt like forgotten paths. He was purposely avoiding the main trail– which was filled with more people than he was comfortable with, no doubt heading to Artazon for a gym battle.
He had another reason for taking the lesser used trails too, and he scanned the distant rocky surfaces for any sign of the Pokemon he was seeking.
Arven let out a sigh, sitting down on a rock as he pulled out his phone, looking at the form he had pulled up. It was one for strange and rare Pokemon encounters– a lot of it was nonsense, people claiming to see actual legends roaming around like they were Pawmi, or an island full of pink Pokemon, but there were some posts that were a lot more probable as well. People would post photos of Pokemon of alternate colors, or species that had more unique markings or sizes.
The current post he was looking at was one that most people discredited, so many comments were more mocking than intrigued, pointing out how such a Pokemon was impossible, or demanding better quality photos. Arven wasn't much of a conspiracist himself, but he had been dedicated to this one form about sightings of a giant Pokemon in the rocky wastelands of the South Province.
He looked at one of the few photos there were of the so-called 'stony cliff titan', which was the photo of a large rocky outcrop in the distance. There was a shape perched on the side of it, and the poster insisted that they had seen it crawling about.
Arven had done careful research. If this were indeed a Pokemon, it would have to be a rock type taking advantage of camouflage, and looking at which species were native to the area the likely answers were either a Klawf or a Naclstack. And it wouldn't be impossible for an actual titan Pokemon to be here, as the book had stated that sweet herba mystica preferred hot and dry places to grow, and titan Pokemon needed herba mystica.
He was going to search every inch of these badlands, comb every cliff, and explore every cave until he found this titan Pokemon– and then he would claim the herba mystica it fed on.
It was his last hope.
Arven closed his eyes, and pushed himself to his feet– he had plenty of ground to cover, and there was no point in wasting it. He took one more look at the photo, taking in the distant and blurry orange shape on the cliff, before tucking his phone away and trekking forward once more.
And on he went, carefully navigating the more narrow parts of the path, and sticking to the shady parts when it was possible. He constantly scanned the cliffs and rock faces in the distance, looking for any sign of movement from something large. He saw plenty of Pokemon, Rookidee and Sqwuakabilly flying in the air, Skiddo scaling the cliff faces as if they were nothing, and a pack of Growlithe moving in the gully below– but none were the ones he was looking for.
Arven only paused when he heard a loud crunch.
He froze in his steps, slowly looking down at the shattered egg shell under his feet. For a moment his mind feared the worst, heart hammering until he saw that clearly the egg had already hatched. With a sigh he pulled his foot away, leaning down to look at the shiny red shell, wondering what would have come from it. Charcadet, maybe?
He turned the shell over, frowning further, this didn't look old. In fact it looked startlingly fresh– perhaps only having hatched a few hours ago. He nervously looked about, worried he had stumbled into a hatching ground– but saw no other signs of nests or of furious parents. He let out a small sigh, but decided it would be best to get a move on before the Pokemon came back.
"Fue!"
A cheerful voice called out, light and melodic, and Arven turned to see a Pokemon standing right behind him. It was a tiny little thing, with shiny red scales and coal-colored eyes, beaming at him.
"You're the smallest Fuecoco I've ever seen," Arven said. There was a good handful of them that wandered around the school, a popular starter Pokemon for new trainers.
"Fue!" The Fuecoco beamed at these words, holding out its small little arms.
"Where is your trainer anyways?" Arven asked with a sigh, casting a glance about, as he hadn't seen any other sign of a human in the last hour.
"Coco-co!" The Fuecoco waddled forward, maw open in what seemed to be a smile, sharp teeth visible. Arven stepped to the side of the path, expecting the Pokemon to keep on walking and head off wherever its destination was– but instead it came to a stop in front of Arven, looking up at him expectantly.
"Shoo," Arven said, waving his hand. "I don't have all day."
"Fue?" The Fuecoco tilted its head, looking confused. Sure they weren't known to be the smartest Pokemon, but surely it knew basic commands.
"Go," Arven said, waving his arm more dramatically. "Carry on. Sally forth. Go away."
Fuecoco watched the movement of his arm, swaying in place as he followed it. "Ooohh..."
"Hey!" Arven called out, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Hey, has anyone lost a Pokemon? I got a Fuecoco here!"
His voice echoed off the rocks, causing the Fuecoco to giggle. The little croc leapt up, letting out a call of its own to listen, before listening to the echoes. "Fue! Fue!"
"Please don't tell me you're lost," Arven groaned, kneeling down. "I don't want to go all the way back to the Pokemon Center and..."
He paused as he reached out to pick up the Fuecoco, realizing just how tiny the thing was. It wasn't like this was a small Fuecoco, no, it was more like this thing was a baby. Of course that couldn't be the case, starter Pokemon were raised up before being handed out to a trainer. There was no way this little Fuecoco had just hatched.
Arven looked down at the egg shells littered at their feet, the same shiny red as the Fuecoco's scales.
"No," Arven said as he picked up the Fuecoco. "Please tell me you aren't just a baby!"
"Fue!"
"Starter species have, like, no wild populations!" Arven protested. "And where they do it's all conservation!"
"Co!"
"Please don't tell me someone just up and abandoned your egg here," Arven whispered as the Fuecoco squirmed in his grip, trying to get comfortable. "Eggs should be incubated, watched over. Of course it's very warm around here and as a fire type you probably were able to retain heat through the night but still..."
"Coco!" The Fuecoco looked up with him with those big bright eyes, and Arven closed his own, taking a deep breath.
"Okay, look, I'll take you to a Pokemon Center and they'll get you the help you need," Arven told the young Pokemon, who was now curiously looking around. "They'll get you to a proper trainer and all that, and in the meanwhile I'll get you some food, how does that sound?"
At the word 'food' the Fuecoco's head whipped straight back to face Arven, hope in his little gaze.
Arven let out yet another sigh. "I'll take that as a yes."
"There goes all our new mission rations..." Jessie mourned.
"Just don't tell Morpeko..." James said, eyeing his Pokeballs nervously, as if the hamster would suddenly burst out.
Dragon types had big appetites (as the Pokedex app had informed them, as they had never trained a dragon before), and with a dragon this size she indeed required a big meal. What exact kind of Pokemon she was, the Pokedex app couldn't tell them, but Meowth's translations had provided them with the name Miraidon– the only thing they had to go off of with this foreign Pokemon.
Miradon's meal had taken up every last bit of their rations. Over a dozen pancakes had been stacked in front of her, all their berries sliced and diced to go on top. Those had all been gone in just two bites, and she had eaten a whole bowl of scrambled eggs just as quickly. That hadn't seemed to fully satisfy the Pokemon though, and they had ended up pulling out every bit of Pokemon food they had as well, which she was finishing off now.
Miradon was smacking her lips, a tongue running around them to gather every single last crumb– before her eyes snapped back up towards the Team Rocket trio. They all jumped at the sudden attention, forcing smiles across their faces.
"We hope you enjoyed your meal!" Jessie said warmly, clasping her hands together.
Please don't want anymore– because we don't have any!
"Giaas," Miradon replied, letting out a content hum.
Meowth let out a long sigh of relief. "Gl-glad it was to your liking."
"Argas?"
"Uh– yeah, I speak like humans," Meowth said, shifting from foot to foot. "Heh, so you say humans don't come here that often?"
"Ghhh..."
"Oh, never come here..." Meowth corrected, paling. "W-well I came promise you we had no plans coming here–"
"Well we did–" James muttered, but was shut up as Meowth gave a hard stomp to his foot.
"No plans at all!" Meowth said loudly. "We'll be getting outta your scales in no time, we'll just find our way out, don't mind us..."
"Gias, arh arawa," Miraidon rumbled at them.
"...Waddya mean there's no way out?" Meowth asked, ears falling flat.
"Growow..." Miraidon looked up at the mist, before letting out a long series of calls. Meowth nodded his head as she spoke, leaving Jessie and James to look back and forth between them, only hearing half of the conversation.
"Well surely there's some way?" Meowth asked, before wincing. "Ah, no, we're not cliff climbers. Er, flying Pokemon? Not with us at the moment, but um... oh. Oohh. Oof. You, uh, wouldn't do that to us if we were just trying to leave, right?"
"What's she's saying, Meowth?" Jessie hissed.
"Hush, I'm in the middle of this," Meowth hissed back, before looking back at Miraidon. "Heh, sorry about them– humans, you know? Oh, you like humans, well me too, I wouldn't be talking like this if I didn't... oh, some humans, well these lugs aren't too bad once you get to know them."
And on and on the conversation went like this, Meowth looking a lot more comfortable with Miraidon as they spoke. Occasionally he would give a wince, or shift uncomfortably, but he kept the conversation up. That left Jessie and James to clean up after the dishes they had used to prepare the dragon her meal.
"Okay," Meowth said, clapping his paws together. "So long story short, there's no easy way outta this crater without wings. Apparently there were other ways– but they've either broken down or been eroded down over the years."
"So we're stuck here?" James asked.
"Er, well... um, kinda," Meowth shuffled side to side. "Miraidon here says sometimes humans wander in here... you know, like us? It's not often, but she says oftentimes other humans will come get them with flying Pokemon. Sounds like either a rescue team or a flying taxi of some sort, but I don't think we should go down that route..."
Jessie shivered. "Yeah, we're not dealing with the police– today has been hard enough."
"Miraidon also mentioned there are some Pokemon in here that can fly," Meowth continued– and instantly both of the humans perked up. They had empty Pokeballs with them– so the answer to their problem seemed at hand, before Meowth swiftly shook his head. "But Miraidon said if any crater-mon tries to fly out of here she'll shoot them down herself– human rider or not."
All of them looked at the Miraidon, who was licking off her paws like a feline.
"Wh-why?" Jessie asked nervously.
"Arrrah..." Miraidon grumbled.
"I... I don't know why," Meowth confessed. "She says it's her territory and she's the strongest here, and it's a duty she carries."
"So we can't catch something to take us out of here," James said slowly. "And it's too risky to call someone, so what– we climb?"
"She says we can try, but she knocks down any rocks that gives good access so she doubts we'll find any good climbing route," Meowth replied.
"So what do you want us to do?" Jessie snapped at the Miraidon. "Teleport?!"
Miraidon turned to look at them, eyes cool and glossy. Jessie paled slightly as she remembered she didn't really stand a chance against this Pokemon, and James pulled her back, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, don't mind Jessie, she's just feeling a bit cranky today–"
"You're going to be feeling a bit cranky!" She snarled back at him.
"Agia," Miraidon said after a moment.
"R-really?" Meowth said, looking surprised– and the Miraidon dipped her head in a nod.
"What did she say?" Jessie snapped.
"Miraidon says she'll give us a ride out of here," Meowth said slowly. "But just this once."
"You– you want us to ride on the thing that almost ate us?" Jessie asked in disbelief. "I think that's a–"
"Wonderful idea!" James cried, covering up Jessie's mouth. "Very generous of you, Miraidon– thank you."
Miraidon slowly pushed herself to her feet, stretching out. Jessie shoved James off of her, though didn't say anything else, all of them watching the dragon as she took several steps. They didn't know what to expect, if she'd turn back into the grand form she had been in before, or maybe if she'd change her mind about being full– and they couldn't help but jump as a sudden surge of plasma rushed through the dragon.
Her dewlap was puffed out once more, electricity humming through it as it flared up. Her tail had curled as it too pulsed with plasma, curling up so it mirrored the rounded shape of the dewlap. She tucked her legs up against her sides, the spiraling plasma seeming to keep her balanced as she sat there, waiting.
"...She looks like a motorcycle," Jessie said, eyes flickering across the shape of the dragon– and she wasn't wrong. The jet-like protrusions on her hind legs looked as if they could be engines, and the spikes jutting out of her shoulders could pass for handlebars. The churning plasma of the throat and tail had the appearance of wheels, and a flare of scales at the end of her back curled up, looking as if it were at seat.
"Does she want us to get on?" James asked in disbelief.
"Um... seems so?" Meowth said uneasily. "So, um– who wants to go first–? Hey!"
Jessie picked up Meowth but the back of his neck, tossing him towards the dragon with no hesitation. Meowth face planted into the ground, looking up to see that the Miraidon was staring down at him. He swallowed, trying to act unfazed as he pushed himself to his feet. He only allowed himself a moment of hesitation, before he slowly climbed up onto her back.
Upon seeing that Meowth wasn't shocked, fried, eaten, tossed off, or growled at; the other two members of Team Rocket came forward next. James climbed on behind Meowth, hands resting on the handlebar-spikes, while Jessie sat behind him with her arms wrapped around his middle.
Miraidon wheeled around with her riders now on, seeming to almost float smoothly across the ground. Team Rocket swallowed as they watched her angle herself, eyes flickering up towards the air. There was no time for questions though as the Miraidon suddenly surged forward with a burst of speed– Team Rocket screaming in fear as the dragon went right over the edge of the nearest cliff.
Miraidon's metallic antennae flicked out, electricity crackling about them– before a membrane of plasma flared out from them, the plane-like wings instantly catching air. The jets on her legs crackled with energy, and they instantly went from falling to flying, the dragon rising up into the air with ease, letting out a laugh-like rumble as her riders clung to her desperately.
"A little warning would have been nice!" Jessie called, only for Miraidon to immediately do a barrel roll, forcing the humans to cling even tighter so they didn't fall.
Then Miraidon angled herself upwards, rising up into the mist and out of Area Zero with her riders, a small shape floating up after them.